The 6G facility was developed in partnership with Keysight and is based on Keysight instrumentation and software.
The University of Sheffield has announced it will open a “National 6G Radio Systems Facility” in Sheffield aimed at helping the UK become a global leader in 6G.
According to the University of Sheffield, the new facility, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will play a key role in driving 6G innovation by bringing together academic and industrial partners and providing the specialist equipment needed to jointly develop future 6G solutions.
The new national centre will be based in the university’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
“6G is the next generation of communications technology and is rapidly becoming a strategically important area of research and development. Our new national 6G facility will play a major role in developing the UK’s 6G capabilities, enabling UK universities and communications industry to compete globally and providing a unique experimental platform for research and testing of current and future wireless systems,” said Timothy O’Farrell, Professor of Wireless Communications at the University of Sheffield, Director of the new facility.
The 6G facility was developed in collaboration with Keysight, the facility’s strategic partner, and is based on Keysight instrumentation and software.
“Keysight is pleased to collaborate with the University of Sheffield, leveraging our leadership and expertise to make their 6G vision a reality. Keysight’s advanced instrumentation and software will form the foundation of the new national 6G facility, allowing us to play an active role in accelerating 6G research and positioning the UK at the forefront of global 6G research,” said Mark Pierpoint, vice president, strategic innovation and partnerships, Keysight. “As the next generation of mobile communications approaches, the urgency and focus on value creation has never been greater. ‘Next G’ brings with it great expectations not only for higher performance, but also greater inclusivity, sustainability, security, support for IoT and ‘native AI.'”
The facility will enable research into various aspects of 6G wireless systems, including candidate waveforms, baseband and RF signal processing, digital acquisition, transmitter and receiver RF subsystems, and over-the-air (OTA) propagation measurements. It will also support research into 6G wireless systems across all operating frequency bands from sub-6GHz to sub-THz, including the 6G pioneer band up to 220GHz.
Additionally, the facility’s equipment will support multiple radio transmissions at once, facilitating research into new advanced radio systems.
The standardization process for future 6G systems is still in its early stages. At a recent plenary meeting, 3GPP decided to complete the standard specifications for commercial 6G networks and terminals by 2029.
